A/N: Naturally, I own no elements of "Rise of the Guardians". Written as a much belated birthday gift to one of my best friends in the world, this little oneshot is also a dedication to her RotG OTP. I had been stuck for a while trying to figure out what I was going to make her gift, because she's not the easiest person when it comes to gift ideas. And yet one day it hit me; I was going to write for her the OTP that she had managed to get me to fall in love with, the OTP I had never known that I needed in my life until she introduced me to it. This one's for you, my dear!

The oppressive summer heat had begun to fade as the sun set, the humidity dropping as the Earth cooled. Toothiana exhaled a sigh of relief as she and her fairies made their way to North America, grateful for the coming night. After all, the greater the heat and humidity, the more difficult it was to go about the business of collecting teeth. Fairy wings were thin and delicate, and the humidity would drag them down, making them too heavy to fly with. Even Tooth's wings, large as they were, wouldn't have been able to support her for sustained flight if the sun hadn't set and taken the heat of the day with it.

They hadn't gone very far into the United States before dozens of her fairies started letting out squeaks of excitement and many of them began to point enthusiastically.

"What?" Tooth asked, surprised. She banked hard in mid-flight, trying to turn around and see what the fuss was about. "What's going on, girls?"

The fairies swarmed her, chirping enthusiastically and pointing in several different directions. It was impossible to try to follow them all at once, but as her magenta eyes scanned around them, she realized they were all pointing out the signs for the same thing.

"Oh..."

Everywhere she looked there were banners of red, white, and blue. Five-pointed stars decorated the colors, and on almost every building, billboard, and street below them, there were flags flying.

"OH!" she exclaimed, beaming as she looked around at her little helpers, realizing at last why they were excited. "It's the Fourth of July! Ooh, maybe we'll get to see some fireworks while we're out!"

The fairies all nodded with delight before resuming their course, dispersing to find different homes where children might be waiting with teeth under their pillows. Tooth herself didn't feel the need to rush off, but slowed her flight as she continued ever westward. There were many families out-and-about, with plenty of children running around and taking part in the holiday fun, and she would linger for a moment or two when she passed them, enjoying the chance to see the young, smiling faces.

Gradually the evening darkened and stars began to dust the sky. Tooth glanced up as the first few stars winked into view. There were probably going to be fireworks starting anytime soon, now.

There was a sudden tug at her sleeve, and she glanced down, expecting to see one of her fairies reporting back. But it wasn't a fairy at all, at least not one of hers. This fairy looked quite different and glowed a bright gold.

And it was made of sand.

"Sandman?" Toothiana inquired of the little sand-fairy, which danced silently and nodded, before flitting a short way ahead, trailing gold dust as it went. It turned back and looked inquisitively at her, before motioning for her to follow. Blinking in surprise, she flew after it, wondering what in the world Sandy would be doing, signaling her like this.

The sand-fairy led her onward, several times stopping and looking back, as though checking up to make certain she was still following. Patiently, Tooth continued to fly behind it, until at last it led her to the roof of a three-story house, where a small, golden figure was seated and looking up at the night sky.

"Sandy?" She called out as she alighted on the rooftop, and the Guardian of Dreams turned and grinned at her brightly, giving a tentative wave. She folded her wings behind her, feeling slightly confused. "Is everything alright? Did you need anything?"

Silently he gave a small nod, smiling as he signaled an "okay" with his hands. Before she could ask any further questions, he launched into forming small images above his head with his sand. She blinked, trying her best to follow him. Sandy's particular form of communication wasn't always the easiest for all of the Guardians to follow, but Tooth liked to believe that she had learned to read his "sand-speak" better than most of the others. As she watched, tiny golden replicas of herself and Sandy exchanged enthusiastic waves, then re-formed into a rooftop, then re-formed again into the two of them sitting on the roof, before finally forming into small little golden bursts that exploded in a shower of gold light.

"You want me to watch the fireworks with you?" she asked, and when Sandy gave a delighted nod she smiled back at him. "Well... alright. I imagine children will be going to bed later than usual this evening, anyway. And besides, most fireworks displays don't take long anyway, do they?"

Sandy gave a shake of his head to indicate that no, they didn't. Satisfied, she sat down next to him and looked up at the sky, waiting patiently. A couple of minutes passed without much happening beyond the sounds of raucous celebration throughout the neighborhood, and Tooth twiddled her fingers a little, feeling slightly awkward.

This was rather unusual. Not uncomfortable per se, but unusual for certain. She would have been more nervous and awkward had she been alone with Jack Frost, but she imagined he was probably busy elsewhere at that moment. It wasn't often that she spent time one-on-one with any of the other Guardians. Usually they all kept to themselves and only came together to interact when the need was dire. True, Tooth saw Sandy more frequently in passing, but it was largely due to the fact they both were hard at work throughout the duration of the year. Still, there had been a few times before where he had stopped to visit with her, and while they had always been brief, they'd left her wondering. The Sandman wasn't necessarily a recluse by any means, but he wasn't always sociable and preferred to communicate through silent compassion. So what had prompted him to ask about spending time together?

Well... it does get lonely when you have no one to talk to for the longest time, she reminded herself. I should know that from experience.

And in any case, Sandy was one of her closest friends. What better way to enjoy holiday festivities than with someone you cared about?

"Will the show be starting soon?" she asked, looking at him. He gave a small nod of his golden head, and began counting down on his fingers. He had just finished curling them all in when the first burst of fireworks soared into the sky and exploded in a roar of noise and color.

And so it went for the next several minutes. The sky was light up with a multitude of hues, sparks and patterns, and even from their rooftop perch, the two could hear the tumultuous sounds of people celebrating Independence Day. Tooth loved it, and found she was enjoying every moment she spent on the rooftop. As the display drew toward the finale, she turned a smile upon her fellow Guardian.

"Thank you so much for the invitation to share this with you, Sandy!"

He blinked and his cheeks flushed darkly as he looked away, abruptly shy. His sand began to dance and form shapes above his head but they moved too fast and looked too vague for her to follow through for a translation.

Poor dear. I've probably embarrassed him.

"Thank you," she repeated. "I love that I got to spend this time with you."

On an impulse, she leaned over and gave a quick affectionate peck on his cheek. Instantly his "sand-speak" dissolved, the tiny shimmering grains falling down in a shower upon him, and he flushed even darker than before as the final fireworks were set off in a brilliant show. Without warning, the tiny Guardian froze and toppled over, losing his balance as he fell onto his back.

"Sandy!" Tooth gasped, twisting around to look at him. "Are you alright?"

A tremulous smile worked its way onto his face as he nodded.

Tonight had been more perfect than he could have asked for.